The present invention relates to absorbent devices used for containing and removing leaked and spilled hydrocarbons in recreational and commercial marine vessels.
For recreational and commercial vessels, there is a need to remove hydrocarbons spilled or leaked into bilges and sumps as part of the routine maintenance of the vessel. This unpleasant, yet critically important, task is necessary to prevent the hydrocarbons that accumulate in the sump or bilge from polluting an adjacent waterway by inadvertently being pumped or expelled from the vessel.
One common material used in absorbent devices for the marine environment is polypropylene fabric. This non-woven petrochemical based fabric possesses the physical properties of absorbing hydrocarbons while repelling water. It can be packaged as a flat pad or sheet, or can be rolled into a long cylindrical boom for placement in the hull of the vessel to absorb the hydrocarbons. It is also packaged as strips of the fabric encased in an open weave plastic net, resulting in a sausage-like boom. Another absorbent device relies on ground-up chicken feathers encased in a cotton pillow case. In each instance, these products are placed in bilges and sumps to extract the hydrocarbons that pool there.
The prior art absorbent devices are subject to having the absorbed hydrocarbons released by gravity, column weight or pressure upon removal from the bilge. Disposal of these items often results in the transfer of a pollutant from one environment to another.